A new Pokemon Legends: Arceus trailer has dropped, in Japanese at least. While we still wait for the English language version to be uploaded however, there's one thing that's abundantly clear already: the Pokemon in this game are assholes. Or maybe we're the assholes. Either way, there's a lot of hostility this time around.
In the new trailer, we see Pokemon chilling in the wild, at peace, vibing in nature. That is until they spot a trainer - and they go in for the kill. Unlike the ones we find in the Wild Area in Sword & Shield, these 'mon are actually looking to do some damage against us, not our team, as we see the humans quickly dodge out of the way of blows. Whatever is going on here, it's clear that this is a very different Pokemon game.
As you can see in the latest gameplay footage below, some of the reactions from Pokemon when they spot you are genuinely quite scary. The trainers are seen narrowly dodging moves both physical and special, suggesting that the creatures found here are a hell of a lot less domesticated than what we're used to in the mainline games. This would make sense considering it's a prequel, set long before the events of Diamond & Pearl in the same region.
Of course, we can still catch them, but a lot of the work will be down to us rather than Pokemon of our own. Here, we see the player lob a Poke Ball at a 'mon while they duck down in tall grass. If they break free, that will quite understandably just make them more pissed, and go in for an attack. You can still direct your own party to attack them, but you'll also have to rely on your own skills (and reaction times) to survive.
Pokemon Legends: Arceus is set to launch January 28, exclusively on the Nintendo Switch. It serves as a prequel to Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, which was released recently, November 19, 2021.